Track list
- Theme from Run Home Slow
- Original Duke of Prunes
- Opening Night Party at Studio Z
- The Village Inn
- Steal Away
- I Was A Teenage Malt Shop
- The Birth of Captain Beefheart
- Metal Man Has Won His Wings
- Power Trio Segment from The Saints ‘n Sinners
- Bossa Nova Pervertamento
- Exerpt from The Uncle Frankie Show
- Charva
- Speed-Freak Boogie
- Original Mothers at The Broadside
- Party Scene from Mundo Hollywood
- Original Mothers rehearsal
- How Could I Be Such A Fool
- Band Introductions at The Fillmore West
- Plastic People
- Original Mothers at The Filmore East
- Harry You’re A Beast
- Don Interrupts
- Piece One
- Jim / Roy
- Piece Two
- Agency Man
- Agency man (Studio Version)
- Lecture from Festival Hall Show
- Wedding Dress Song / The Handsome Cabin Boy
- Skweezit Skweezit Skweezit
- The Story Of Willie The Pimp
- Black Beauty
- Chucha
- Mothers at KPFK
- Harmonica Fun
Catalogue number: RCD 10580
Label: Rycodisc
Released: 1998
Album overview from Graham Johnston
Mystery Disc brings together the two bonus vinyl albums included with Frank Zappa’s Old Masters box sets, featuring then previously unreleased gems from the vaults.
This is a mostly marvellous collection, with many examples of Zappa and The Mothers at their very best, though the inclusion of several long, boring, self-indulgent and pointless spoken word Tom Foolery, all of which are currently available on the Ahead Of Their Time album, diminishes the otherwise stunning quality of this release.
Especially of interest to Beefheart fans are the inclusions of “I Was A Teenage Malt Shop”, “The Birth Of Captain Beefheart” and “Metal Man Has Won His Wings”, all early Vliet / Zappa collaborations and all great fun. Quite apart from that, the majority of the Zappa material is pretty thrilling, especialy the “King Kong”-esque “Black Beauty” and the quite literal “Speed-Freak Boogie”.
The liner notes are an obsessive’s dream, featuring Zappa’s original commentary on all the songs, many rare photographs, and very precise details about every aspect imaginable. Best of all is this photo of Zappa, an unknown, Don Van Vliet and Ian Underwood:
The CD is as ful as it can be, and even if you take out the trash, you are still left with an excellent value collection of some bizarre but essential oddities, mostly unavailable elsewhere, though a few tunes have also appeared on Ahead Of Their Time and The Lost Episodes.
Purchase Mystery Disc
Releases
- Mystery Disc#1 Barking Pumpkin BPR 777-6, 1985 part of Old Masters Box 1. Contains tracks 1-20 plus Why Don’tcha Do Me Right and Big Leg Emma.
- Mystery Disc#2 Barking Pumpkin BPR 888-8, 1986 part of Old Masters Box 2. Contains tracks 21-35
- Mystery Disc Rycodisc RCD 10580, 1998. Contains tracks 1-35, widely available.
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